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Homeschool Encouragement

Homeschooling Hearts & Minds is an archive of resources to help you on your homeschooling journey. I am no longer actively blogging on this site, so comments have been turned off, but you can still find me on social media or click the "about" tab to find out how to contact me. -Susan4/11/15

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Tomorrow the high will be around 80 degrees. And why am I rejoicing? Because it's been about 97 for the past several days. Today was 90. Looks like we'll get a short break before temps head back up into the 90's over the weekend.

Between 6/29/10 - 9/7/10, Electrolux will donate $1 to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund for each virtual banana split made at Kelly Confidential, with a minimum of $35K and a maximum of $40K donated. You can make a split every day...and for each split you make, you'll also be entered for a chance to WIN your very own standalone freezer and fridge from Electrolux!

I could really use an extra fridge and freezer to feed my brood (just think what it'll be like the the boys are teenagers, they already eat as much as their dad...and then some).

One winner each day will receive $50 to spend on summer treats. Pretty cool.

Disclosure: I will receive a chance to win a standalone freezer and fridge from Electrolux for posting this info. I received no compensation.

Monday, June 28, 2010

A little slower, but that keep me from mindlessly wandering over endless mounds of information. That's probably a plus.

And if I turn off graphics, pages load much more quickly, perfect for getting through pages of emails and skimming over forum and blog posts.

Then I spent about an hour designing a new blog header.

And uploaded it to my blog.

And previewed it.

And immediately deleted it.

It was a huge blur!

Thought there was something wrong with my file. So I uploaded my old header and took a look at that. And started looking at the other pics on my blog. And they were all pixelly bloboids (yes, that's a technical term).

Monday, June 21, 2010

When I arrived at the new (to us) house to confirm the finish color for the upstairs floors we were having refinished, my jaw did not drop to my knees as I tiptoed over the rough sanded 1st floor. The floor that was in good shape. The floor that was not perfect but had a nice aged patina to it. The floor the Antiques Roadshow people would probably shoot you for sanding down.

One of the 1st floor rooms, before the sanders arrived.

Nope, did not happen.

I called up to the workers on the 2nd floor and moseyed on up to see my well sanded upstairs floors. They were beautiful. Truly. We went through each room, the guy (I’m naming no names!) showed me the imperfections (who wants perfection in a 100+ year-old house?).

One of the upstairs rooms, before the sanders arrived.

And another.Something tells me they didn’t go upstairs before they started sanding, what do you think?

Note: I don’t have pics, yet, but will get them up…promise!

I did not spend a full 15 minutes going over the rooms without saying a word about the 1st floor. We did not go downstairs and compare stain samples that had been brushed onto the rough-sanded 1st floor, without saying a word about the fact that it was a rough-sanded floor. And the guy (no names, remember?!), did not turn to me and ask if we were planning to carpet the first floor. Nope. Did not happen.

He did not tell me the story of how they arrived at the house, compared the notes on the job, and realized that they needed a coarser grit. The foreman did not leave to get the coarse grit. One of the workmen did not get done tightening loose boards, decide to stop wasting time and get started sanding while the foreman was gone…only to find that when he got back the square footage didn’t match and it was the wrong floor. Glad they had the right house.

So, we are a week behind schedule due to the hiccup, ahem.

There is a silver lining…we get the the floors in the whole house (except the laminate kitchen) refinished for the price of doing the 2nd floor.

Only problem with that is, can I let the boys run their little cars over my new floors?

Thursday, June 17, 2010

I'm busily working to revamp my blog and make it more friendly, so please bear with me.

I'm also busily packing up my life to move...so postings will be a bit sporadic over the next week or so as we find a new norm...did I mention I'm going to dial-up? No, that wasn't a joke! We'll see how that little experiment works out. I'm doing it for y'all, because I know you're dying to know (wink).

I talked awhile back about how our new home has no mailbox. Would you believe…no DSL!? It seems the DSL ports in this little town are all taken. Gulp!

OK, I admit it. I’m an internet junkie. But I also refuse to pay exorbitant rates for access. There is exactly 1 cable provider available locally. And 1 satellite provider. And since we don’t watch television, we can’t get some killer bundle deal…I simply cannot will not pay $60/month +monthly equipment fee+installation+modem+?

And then there’s the fact that it just burns me to deal with companies that can’t just come out and tell you the bottom line…

What to do?

We are going to conduct a little experiment…and go back to dial-up for awhile.

Yeah, I know, I’m crazy.

But as much as I’m chained to my computer…I hate my computer…I hate the internet…because it has seriously sucked me in and totally changed how I view the world.

I need a change.

And going to dial-up will give me the impetus I need to make that change.

The other day my 10-year-old was begging me to get out the camera and snap something Emma was doing.

“You’re missin’ a great blog post!” he said.

He needs a change.

My 4-year-old demands coloring pages of any little thing that pops into his head. Do you know how hard it is to Google a coloring page of a giant…all you get are giant coloring pages.

He needs a change.

I need to drag my hubby away from Facebook and Backyard Monsters.

He needs a change.

We all need a change.

We’ll see if it’s possible to survive in the information age without always being on.

I’ll keep ya posted.

Do you have a computer problem? What do you do to keep your family’s electronic consumption under control?

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Her class had 2 numbers. They tapped to Sea Cruise and jazzed to Welcome to Rio. Here’s the rehearsal for Sea Cruise (Mary is in the back row, far right---notice she’s about a head taller than most of the girls in her class, but just as skinny. They are all ages 6-7. Now you know why it’s so hard to shop for clothes for her):

If you are at all familiar with the 5 Minutes a Day idea, you can keep a big batch of bread dough in the fridge for up to 2 weeks, and have fresh-baked bread every day, if you want. No kneading and minimal hands-on time---the easy way to make a crispy, thin-crusted artisan loaf with that yummy, chewy crumb you usually only get from a good bakery. Sigh…I love bread!

But I don’t love running my oven in the summer heat. This rental house is the pits as far as energy conservation…leaky windows, no attic for rising heat, plus it’s a split foyer so we essentially live in the upstairs. You can run the air all day and it still hits 80 degrees inside. Really. Now, add 450-500 degree construction grade electric oven to that. Maybe I should build a brick oven outside?

I’m also not digging the wasted energy. The loaves are small, so they bake in about 30 minutes. But add the preheat time…this is just not at all sitting well with my frugal mindset.

So, being a-think-outside-of-the-box sorta gal, I had a minor brainstorm…why not bake in the crockpot? It would certainly trap the steam that you have to go to so much trouble to create/save in a conventional oven. And it has been done before. I’ve already got the dough made…let’s give it a try (or two).

Not having to make a fresh batch of bread dough and go through the kneading gauntlet makes it easier to experiment---there’s a lot less to lose if it doesn’t work out.

Sourdough Bread in the Crockpot (Take 1)

I used the master recipe from Artisan Bread, but you could probably use any yeast-risen bread dough.

I have a 6-quart oval-shaped crockpot. I found a metal bowl that’s rim fit right over the inner rim of the crock.

About a pound of dough (this dough has been in the fridge for 4 or 5 days, and already has a decided sourdough flavor to it). I did not allow it to warm up before putting it in the crockpot (I figured it would warm up in there---I think this was a mistake).

I found varying advice on the internet…to cover the dough or not to cover? In the end I decided to cover it with foil and then the lid (this was definitely a mistake).

After about 2 hours, I peeked. The bread was firm, but steam had condensed on the foil and dripped back onto it (it was under water!). So, I removed it, patted it dry and put it in the toaster oven to dry it out---so much for not using the oven!

The end result was not bad. A chewy, moist bread, fairly dense (it did not rise as much as I would have liked). The kids yummed it up with dinner.

Sourdough Bread in the Crockpot (Take 2)

Don’t let it be said that I don’t learn from my mistakes. First, I found a smaller pyrex bowl that would fit fully inside the crock. I created some foil “feet” for it.

I let it sit at room temp for about 40 minutes before putting in the crockpot.

No foil this time. Baked in crock for about 3 hours.

After cooling on the rack. You’ll notice this is not a golden brown loaf.

And it won’t be, using this method. It does get crisp on the bottom.

And the verdict. A chewy, moist (but not soggy), slightly dense loaf with a light, crisp crust on the bottom. Definitely worth eating. Probably not for company, though. I just might keep experimenting with this…or maybe I’ll build a solar oven next.

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

We’re so excited about our move in the next couple of weeks! I’ve been puttering on-line looking for the little things we’ll need. CSN Stores has just about everything…kids’ furniture, rugs, snazzy cookware, and even LED lighting…to help make your house a home. They were so happy with the response from the Uberstix giveaway I did awhile back…they’ve asked me to choose a product from one of their 200+ stores to review. Sweet! What an awesome housewarming gift. But I can’t make up my mind…

Newly revised and edited, Captivating: Unveiling the Mystery of a Woman’s Soul (co-written by John & Stasi Eldredge) almost brought out the mad underliner in me…there are some people who underline, fold down corners and generally make a mess of their books. I was one of them, once upon a time. Underlining was my way of rereading a passage and imprinting it in my brain. Trouble is, I would have to underline nearly every sentence of Captivating, because nearly every one resonated with some deep hurt or desire from my life.

They should sell this in a gift pack with a box of tissues…or perhaps a dozen lace-edged hankies would be more appropriate.

The question on the lips of every girl or woman is “Am I captivating?” Am I pretty? Am I beautiful? Do you want me?

Friday, June 4, 2010

The house we bought was built around the turn of the last century. Hardwood floors (yes!). But, the floors upstairs were hidden under 25-year-old carpet. 540 pounds worth, according to the scales at the dump.

The carpet is gone, we are having the floors upstairs refinished.

I told our 10-year-old boy that we need to mark the creaky boards for the floor man so he can tighten them down.

What does that have to do with ninjas, you ask?

You don’t have boys, do you?

David: “Ooooh, we can have a NINJA HOUSE!”

Mama: ?????

David: “Yeah, if there’s no creaks, we can be ninjas and no one will hear us coming!”

Mama: “Oh, I hadn’t thought of that. Hmmm…”

David: “Maybe he could leave a creaky board in front of my room that just I know where it is…so I can step over it but the bad guys will make it creak…yeah! Cool!”

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Ever get a scab, and it starts to itch…so you scratch it, tearing off the hard, crusty plates of skin, exposing the pink, tender, not-quite-ready flesh beneath?

Now, imagine that about 50% of your body is covered with these stiff, itchy scales. Your neck. Your scalp. Your chest. Under your arms. In fact, it’s so thick under your arms that you can’t sweat. Any temp over 70 degrees sends you sprawling with heat exhaustion. Your face is red. You’re cranky. You can’t hear Mama calling you in out of the heat because your ear canals are lined with the same scales.

This is a condition called Lamellar Ichthyosis. It afflicts approximately 1 in 200,000…and our youngest son, Peter, was born with it. Each year, fewer than 50 children are born in the United States with Lamellar Ichthyosis. They have a high risk of developing sepsis, which can lead to death, and many spend the first several days of their lives in Neonatal Intensive Care. Some are permanently disabled, the thick scale affecting the soles of their feet, palms of their hands and fingers, restricting fine motor skills and even walking.

All are subject to stares, pointing and unkind remarks. It’s not an invisible condition.

I’ve mentioned Peter’s condition here on occasion, mainly in an effort to raise awareness. But as he gets older, and struggles with the challenges of day-to-day living and finding acceptance in society, making friends, you know, all the things “normal” kids do, it seems somehow dishonest to not share some of those challenges.

You might be thinking, “What does this have to do with me? It’s so rare, there’s no way this will ever effect me.”

Possibly. Lamellar Ichthyosis can be caused by a dominant gene mutation or a recessive gene. What that means is that a child with no family history of this genetic disorder can be born with it. Or that anyone, even you, could be a carrier of the recessive gene. So, yes, it could affect you or someone you love.

My point is this: we are not in control of our destinies. We do not choose the traits we are born with. We are all different. We all have weaknesses. And yet our society ridicules and ostracizes those who already have more than their share of challenges.

Some of those challenges are visible…and some are not. Some situations we can understand…and some are beyond understanding.

But wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could reach out to each other with love and kindness, celebrating our similarities, rather than building up walls with the mortar of our differences?